Sephiroth
by nightmarekitt
Summary: This time, it's not Cloud but Sephiroth who's getting a second chance. Time-travel. Cloud's just along for the ride. Rating for Language. DISCONTINUED.
1. The End

.The End.

He stood over the cliff's edge, his expression dark and dying. The planet was in ruins. Angeal, Genesis, Zack, Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, Yuffie, Vincent, Barrett, Marlene, Denzel - hell, even Rufus Shrina, Reno, Rude - _dead._ They were all gone, all lost in the torrential downpour of his own insanity. And to think that at one point they had never really mattered, but now...looking back he could see. Even the children, the isignificants...they mattered. Damn those remnants! Damn Reunion and damn Jenova! He owed the Planet billions of lives, and so much _time_ and knowledge that was lost.

"I'm a fool," he said, bowing his head in shame. He would have been content to stand there and mope for the rest of a miserable existence, but just then...

It was like someone was staring at him from behind. He spun around and habit had him jerking Masamune in an unknown enemy's direction..._because all I have are enemies, _he thought. _I have no friends, at least not anymore._

And then he saw said "enemy" and drew in a sharp breath.

"_Cloud_?!" Sephiroth gasped, completely shocked. The blonde youth was transparent, almost completely indiscernable, but anger rolled off of his incorporeal form in massive waves.

Cloud glared darkly at Sephiroth and his glare was acknowledged by one of equal magnitude.

"We're starting over," Cloud growled. "We all are. You have a chance to fix things, though you obvioiusly don't deserve it."

"What do you mean?"

"The Planet can't help the dead, but she can help the living, and you're all that's left. I don't know what woke you up, what made you realize that everything you existed for was wrong, but Gaia is willing to give you a _chance_."

Hope was blooming. Sephiroth felt it deep within himself and he barely resisted the urge to push such a feeling away. He wasn't used to feeling positive emotions like hope. There was a stale taste in his mouth.

Habitually disagreeable, the ex-General had to point out, "I see. By giving me a so-called opportunity to reestablish myself as a protagonist, the Planet will be giving _everyone _a second chance. So, it wouldn't have anything to do with me at all if I weren't the only one left alive in the first place. Am I right?"

Cloud's black scowl was enough of an answer.

Sephiroth smirked at the dead man's anguish and resheathed Masamune. He dramatically held out his arms.

"Tell the Planet to give me her best shot."

Cloud's eyes began to glow and-

The world went black.

.End Chapter.

_**AN: **__Well, there you have it - a new fanfiction for the masses, one that I had a hard time thinking up. I was actually delighted by the chance to read so many time-travel based fanfics wherein Cloud is sent to the past, and I wanted to come up with something along those lines that would on its own remain unique. Thus this spawned._

_**Disclaimer: **__Final Fantasy VII and characters belong to Square Enix, not me, but this fanfiction is respectively mine._


	2. The Beginning

.The Beginning.

"Sephiroth?"

The darkness was fading away. His mind was working rapidly. Sephiroth was _never _good with the whole "being-unconscious" thing.

A feminine voice slipped into his thoughts, _Sephiroth..._

He lurched off of whatever surface it was he was laying on, and slammed his head into the person who had been worriedly watching over him. That person just happened to be...

"An_geal_?!" Sephiroth gasped uncharacteristically, rubbing his head.

Angeal mirror his actions, but with a very different expression on his face. In all the time he'd known his dear friend, he had never seen the General act so unorthodox. Not even when they were children! And now here was his friend - _General Sephiroth - _gaping at him with all the blood drained from his face.

"....what?" Angeal finally asked. "What are you staring at? Sephiroth, are you alright?"

"I'm...fine, Angeal," the General replied with an absurd hint of confusion in his normally-controlled tone. Angeal didn't look convinced, and as he reeled over what could possibly be wrong with Sephiroth, the One-Winged Angel was staring at his hands with wide eyes.

_These are mine, _he was thinking. _They don't belong to some clone or a remnant. They're actually mine! _He sat them in his lap, against the black leather of a familiar coat and tried telling himself that this time around, he wasn't crazy.

_Because this is really happening. I'm back. And...I'm a good guy now?_

He sneered. This really wasn't his style.

_My son..._ Sephiroth cringed internally at Jenova's presence as it trickled through his thoughts, corrupting them in much the same way that he had destroyed the Planet...in the future.

He grimaced. _Jenova destroyed me, so in retaliation, I destroyed everthing else. _He glanced at Angeal, his ever-faithful childhood friend, and felt thoroughly ashamed.

Fortunately, he was flung out of his self-wallowing reverie by the ringing of a phone. Sephiroth calmly searched out the PHS with his eyes, not wanting to worry Angeal more by flailing around in search of an item that he _should _have known the location of. Luckily, he spotted it quickly and reached over to the table beside the couch he had been laying on.

"Hello?" he answered uncertainly, which _really _wasn't like him _at all._

_Genesis is going to have a field day, _Angeal thought as he observed his companion's strange behavior. He was even more convinced of this when the person on the other end of the line apparently said something so horrible that it caused Sephiroth to glare blackly, crush the PHS in his bare hands, and then toss the pieces at - and _through - _the nearest wall. Someone screamed in the neighboring office, which make the seething General pause.

His temper dispersed, and he quickly stood, then left the room. Curious as hell, Angeal followed him without voicing an iquiry. He was led into the office next to Sephiroth's, upon which shrapnel from the unfortunate PHS had rained. The victim of Seph's little fit stood behind a long black desk, nursing a bleeding arm.

Sephiroth sighed and drug a hand through his impressive silver hair. "Sorry. I'll call medical, but erm..." He turned to Angeal. "Could I borrow your phone?"

"Sure." He handed over his own PHS. Sephiroth called medical, as promised, and actually remained in the victim's office until help arrived. Moments later, they were back in the General's own office, and Angeal was barely containing his amusement.

"So who called?" he asked innocently, and the answer didn't really shock him, but it did make him rather curious.

"Hojo."

"What did he say?"

Sephiroth's looked away. "He said, 'Hello'."

"I wasn't aware that the mad scientist had done anything to piss you off lately."

Sephiroth paused and turned around slowly to stare at the man who had just so rudely burst into his office.

"Genesis..." he whispered in disbelief. This was so strange. No, this was _impossible_. Sephiroth plopped ungracefully (so _not _like him!) on the couch and sunk into it, feeling completely exhausted. "I don't believe this."

Genesis shared a look with Angeal, before raising a skeptical brow at Sephiroth and, as usual, saying exactly what was on his mind: "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Angeal rolled his eyes and Sephiroth chuckled lightly.

Genesis did a double-take. "Seriously, what the _hell _is wrong with him, Angeal?!"

Angeal crossed his arms. "He passed out on the couch earlier, which was unusual in itself, and then when he woke up, he was like this."

"Out of his Goddamn mind?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that exactly, but uh...he hasn't been himself."

Sephiroth stared at the ceiling, ridiculously blaming it for all of his problems. _Yes, ceiling, it is _your _fault that I destroyed the world and that the Planet has sent me back to deal with this. _He shook his head in wonder as Genesis and Angeal bickered about his well-being in the background. _Damn. What am I going to tell them? I mean, after Cloud..._

He sat straight up. _Cloud! I wonder if he also remembers?_

Sephiroth looked sharply at Angeal, and inquired flatly, "Where is Zack?"

"The Puppy? You want to know where _he _is? Planet! Angeal, call Hojo! Something is fucking wrong with him! Quickly, he's getting up! I'll hold him down-"

Sephiroth elbowed his friend in the gut, cutting him off before he could drag this absurdity out any further. "Where is Zack?" he asked Angeal again, now more demanding.

Angeal frowned. "Zack's in the training room. Why-"

Sephiroth pracitcally ran at the door with his friends hot on his heals. They raced to elevators and rode down several floors, with the General literally bouncing with impatience. He burst into the training room moments later, where Zack was sparring with a few friends of his - it was one-on-three with Zack standing in as the lone wolf.

"Zack?" Sephiroth blinked at him skeptically. It was so odd, seeing these people who had been dead for so many years.

"Sir?" Zack said, as he and his friends came to a halt mid-fight.

"Where is he? Where's Cloud?"

Zack's eyes grew wide. "You...want to talk to Cloud? I haven't seen him yet today, but he'll be on liberty soon. He gets a few hours off after training each day."

Sephiroth nearly growled with impatience. Impaling anyone who annoyed him just because he could was starting to sound like a good way to do things...again. But dammit he knew better! He could feel Jenova slithering around on the outskirts of his mind. At least this time around he would have sense enough to ignore her.

"Find Cloud Strife. Send him to my office when you do."

"Yes, sir!" Zack replied automatically as Sephiroth spun around and exited the room.

"I still say something is seriously fucking wrong with him," Genesis muttered.

Angeal just laughed.

**'**

Sephiroth sat behind his desk, Masamune put away. He was boredly waiting on Cloud to show up, and to pass the time, he was trying his best to figure out how not to intimidate the fourteen-year-old just in case Cloud didn't have his memories of the...future.

Sephiroth's brow furrowed. _This is all so confusing._

His office door cracked open, and he (with difficulty) shoved away the urge to snap at the person who was daring enough to enter his office without knocking.

Of course, it would be Cloud.

Sephiroth, slightly excited that someone else might know why he was acting so out-of-character, sat a little straighter in his chair and tried to look...friendly.

The cadet took one glace at the Generals' face and looked absolutely mortified.

"General, sir?"

Sephiroth's hope shattered into a thousand little pieces. This wasn't Cloud Strife, master of the sword First Tsurugi, and the man who defeated Sephiroth on several different occasions. This was the scared little child who had yet to lose everything, who had hopes of a glorious future, and who idolized himself and Zack Fair.

Sephiroth's expresson changed from one of welcoming to one of disgust.

"_Damn," _he muttered. "I guess I'll have to do everything myself." Sephiroth was annoyed that his agenda for the next few years was suddenly look very full and..._insane,_ he realized as he mentally plotted what that agenda actually was. _Let's see...I have to do something about Shinra, tear Hojo limb from limb, which I don't consider condemning, seeing as he's the asshole who basically caused all of this anyway. Then I have to destroy Jenova..._ He cringed, because he knew that that particular task would not be easy, and it would probably be physically painful, seeing as a part of her was already residing within himself.

"Sir, is there something you needed from me?"

Sephiroth's eyes readdressed the blonde. Well, it was Cloud who assaulted him at the end of the world. Why not bring him into this now, as a little payback? Because he wasn't like that anymore....ugh. How annoying. However, he had to do something about Cloud, the boy had grown to be the only person who had ever really ever been on parr with him as far fighting went at least. And he was the most amusing person to tease and torture and...inspiration struck.

"Cloud Strife, I have decided that you are going to be my very first apprentice."

"_WHAT?!" _Sephiroth winced and whipped his head towards his office door. Old memories of nailing the damn thing shut assailed him and he groaned.

"Genesis, what are you doing?" the General asked annoyedly.

Genesis, looking thoroughly mortified, raced off.

Sephiroth rolled his eyes at his dramatic friend.

"Excuse me, sir," Cloud said weakly, "Where was he going?"

"To get Angeal, I imagine."

"Is that bad?" Cloud asked.

"No." _It's wonderful._

"Well, there you have it, Cloud. I'll fill out the necessary paperwork. You'll move to your new quarters next week - that information will be sent to you, and we'll begin training accordingly."

Cloud, obviously shocked, nodded mutely and left the office.

Sephiroth sighed. "He must be wondering why this is happening."

But the General was wrong.

As 14-year-old Cloud walked down an empty hallway, a smirk rose on his lips.

"This time around," he said, "things are going to be different. Just you wait, Sephiroth. I'm going to enjoy toying with you for a while."

.End Chapter.

**AN: Sephy totally killed a phone. Lol. FFVII and characters are (c) Square Enix. Fanfic belongs to mwah.**


	3. Broken World

. Broken World .

Cloud Strife was struggling for control over his own body. Really, what _was _the Planet thinking? In an attempt to torment Sephiroth for what he had done to her, she was possessing Cloud's body, which was exactly why he had spouted that little line when leaving the General's office: _"This time around, things are going to be different."_

Cloud himself had no such thoughts. Sure, when the silver-haired man had off and destroyed the world, Cloud had been a little pissed, but mostly that was mowed over by his own feelings of insecurity and shame for not being able to defeat Sephiroth and preventing said tragedy from occuring in the first place. In Cloud's eyes, the Planet's downfall resided on his shoulders alone. The General wasn't really so much to blame. If Cloud had only done things differently, Sephiroth wouldn't have turned out the way he did. It was in Cloud's nature to shoulder the blame for practically ever little thing that went wrong.

With the Lifestream coursing through his body in the way that it did, it had been impossible for the Planet to erase his memories. He was too closely connected now. But that didn't stop her from controlling him to get her revenge. _I won't be your puppet! _Cloud thought determinedly. _I've had enough of that!_

The Planet's ungrateful response was sent to him in a flurry of ideas, her way of speaking to him. He discerned that she would cooperate with him if he would help her punish the General, which made the warrior frown. _Hasn't he been punished enough? _Outraged, the Planet projected her ideas of punishment at Cloud, which were nothing like what he expected. She wanted a child's revenge, to annoy Sephiroth and not to kill him, because she needed the One-Winged Angel to fix her broken world. However, she first wanted to teach him a lesson.

_Fine, I'll help you, _Cloud told her, _but only because your revenge is so petty that I doubt the General will even mind, and because you're not giving me a choice about it if I decide not to cooperate. I won't enjoy this. I'm not sure what made Sephiroth realize his mistakes, but we need to use that, not tease him about it._

The Planet's protest was feeble and immature, which made Cloud sigh. In the end, she always got her way.

.

Sephiroth was not pleased.

He had spent all night pacing in his quarters in the ShrinRa building. Then, when 3 am rolled around, something tackled him from behind. Annoyed, he tried to fight it off, but then another something came out of the shadows and also tried to restrain him.

It took them half an hour to tie him down.

Now the General glared at his two friends Angeal and Genesis, while he was tied to a chair that he knew, if he tried, he could easily break free of. But he wanted to hear what they had to say. Unfortunately, he had a feeling that he already knew.

"Who are you and what have you done with that bastard?" Genesis snarled, pressing Rapier's blade to the General's throat.

"_Genesis_," Angeal said quietly, "behave yourself."

Genesis moodily put his blade away, then crossed his arms and switched entirely into bitch-mode. Sephiroth barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. Angeal sighed.

"If you're Sephiroth, then tell us what's going on to make you act so...unusual."

The General quirked a brow, not sure how to answer. So of course he told them the truth. "I'm going to burn ShrinRa to the ground."

Genesis snarled, "Let's torture him, and then kill him once he tells us where the real Sephiroth ran off too."

Angeal sighed for the second time. "Why take ShinRa down?"

This was where things got sketchy, of course. "Because years from now I will destroy the world unless things change, and ShinRa's to blame. Mostly."

A heavy silence filled the air.

"I'm joking," the General finally said, annoyed because they obviously doubted his sanity.

Genesis was glaring. "You're just fucking toying with me again, right?"

Sephiroth, not really able to remember exactly how his relationship or the events that were going on with these two at this time, just nodded and - for good measure - smirked triumphantly.

"Got you."

Genesis punched the General in the face, and Sephiroth took it without even defending himself. It occured to him afterwards that he could have avoided that one, had he really wanted to (it certainly would have hurt less) but what did he care? His current concerns lay in accomplishing one goal) the demise of his enemies. (that goal never really changes, whether he's a good guy or not) Though if Genesis and Angeal had absolute faith in his abilities, it would have been nice. Sadly, however, it was a necessity.

But he really wanted his friends to live this time around.

Angeal's penetrating gaze made Sephiroth jump off the thought train and into the present.

"I hate to say it, but Genesis is right. Something is very wrong with you. Why didn't you defend yourself when he threw that punch? Not that I approved of that..." the dark-haired man shot Genesis a disappointed look.

"Well, why didn't _you _stop him?" Sephiroth inquired.

His friend shrugged. "Normally, I don't have to until it turns into a full-fledged fight and one of you tries something stupid."

"_Hey." _Genesis and Sephiroth protested in unison.

"But, if you're you - which I think you _are _- then you already know that."

Sephiroth nodded, though slightly offended.

Genesis was about to start raging at Angeal, of course. Meanwhile, Sephiroth was mentally trying to switch roles. He would slowly have to show his friends how he'd changed. But for now, he would have to be the old Sephiroth - ShinRa's poster boy, Genova's whelp...a killer.

Well, he _was _still a fighter, wasn't he? That, at least, would never change.

Suddenly, it was so much easier to be himself again.

"Untie me," he ordered in a threatening tone.

"Untie your damn self!" Genesis barked.

With a small smirk, Sephiroth broke the chains they had tied him down with and lurched at Genesis.

Blood would be spilled.

Friendly blood.

None of it would be his.

_After all-_

he grinned maniacally-

_I am a lot stronger now, and there's really only one person I'll ever want to really fight anymore._

.

_Cloud._

_He was laying in a puddle of blood. There was a sword in his heart...Sephiroth's precious Masamune._

_Cloud, just barely alive, stared his murderer in the eye and laughed so lightly that Sephiroth was sure the kid had finally lost it._

_"Third time's a charm, eh, General? I guess it was your turn to win."_

_The silver-haired man smiled. It was that insane little smirk that he always wore when he was trying to destroy the world. And it was harder to maintain this time around, because Cloud was deliberately teasing him, even though the poor fool was dying. Well two could play at that game._

_"I thought Clouds were supposed to be white."_

_Cloud was still smiling. "Are you satisfied now, that you took it all away? Do you even know what you've lost? Sephiroth..."_

_Okay, so the General's crazy smirk was gone now. He was frowning at Cloud, vaguely worried that he had missed an important detail somewhere in the conversation._

_"What are you talking about?"_

_"Is Jenova still spinning little lies in your head? You were a great person, you know, and that one ruined you."_

_Sephiroth cruelly twisted Masamune - Cloud let out a scream of agony. "My mother is superior to you."_

_"She was never your mother!" Cloud gasped out._

_What was this fool blabbering about? He was dying, Goddammit! Why couldn't he just die properly?_

_"And I swear I think Vincent was your real father, not that crazy ass of a scientist."_

_Sephiroth glowered at the mere mention of Hojo, but Vincent...?_

_"Besides, he loved her. He loved Lucrecia. I feel...s-sorry for you." Cloud's features were contorting horribly as the pain overwhelmed him. He was barely holding on. "So here's my revenge for winning, sir. Lucrecia abandoned you. Vincent thought Hojo was your father and was sealed away. You have Jenova's cells, but she wasn't even technically related to you. You have no one, no one at all. Look at yourself. You've got a monster in your head, but everyone else is dead. Travel the Cosmos. It doesn't matter. In the end, you will always be alone."_

_Sephiroth's eyes widened._

_Cloud smiled as he breathed his last breath, and the expression he wore as the life slipped out of him was tragic. It was a look of pity, a sad smile for the man who was killing him at last._

_Sephiroth pulled Masamune free and resheathed it. Then...for a long time, he stood over his greatest enemy's dead body and didn't move, didn't think. A calm wind tussled his pristine hair. The smell of blood filled his nostrils._

_Jenova's song filled his ears._

_For the first time in his life, he thought that she sounded...fake. Like Hojo himself, she was whispering sweet nothings in his ear, consoling a broken man in a broken world who for the first time wanted nothing to do with her._

_And finally..._

Finally.

_He didn't listen._

**AN: Well, this chapter felt spazdic. I was shocked to see my inbox bulging with lovely reviews and encouraging comments. ^3^ Thank you FantasyFlameQueen, Wasabi-sama, Bri, Zigmata, Ashlan, signrain, Calenlass Greenleaf1, FFVII, -Yuna's Reincarnation-1, cloudstrifejen, endlessvamp, dragi, Joon the Ninja Clockwork Phoenix, luminous spark, and Silver Queen especially! FFVII and its characters belong to Square Enix and their affiliates. I am only the proud writer of a fanfiction about my favoritest character eva - Sephy. **

**83**


	4. Cherish Everything

.Cherish Everything.

Cloud faced the General, sword in hand, a look of nervous determination on his face.

Sephiroth faced the man, now a child, who had killed him twice, and he an expression of utter calm - Masamune fit comfortably against his hand.

Cloud twitched as the silver-haired man's gaze matched his.

Genesis, Angeal, Zack, and a cluster of cadets observed them from the outskirts of the training arena, well out of harms way.

Cloud fidgeted, making the General sigh. "I have discovered that all human evil comes from this, man's being unable to sit still in a room."

The boy winced as his new master dared call _him _evil. The blonde gritted his teeth and flew at the older man, heavy sword raised in front of him. It's girth clashed with Masamune.

Sephiroth looked neither fazed nor threatened.

"If we're speaking of evil," the boy gasped, "then I have got one for you, sir." He sidestepped, slowly swinging his sword away, and putting some distance between himself and the General.

"Battle not with monsters, or you'll become a monster yourself, and by gazing at your opponent, your opponent gazes at you."

It was the kid's way of saying _right back atcha, sir!_

Sephiroth disappeared, moving faster than the boy could see, before reappearing behind. He tapped the blonde on the shoulder with the flat end of his blade.

Cloud barely held back a sound of anger as he spun and, disregarding Sephiroth's safety, swung his sword with all his might.

He missed.

"The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil."

"What are you talking about, sir?" Cloud bit off. "I _am _good."

"Nobody is more dangerous than he who imagines himself pure in heart, for his purity, by definition, is unassailable. Besides, it is always good men who do the most harm in the world."

"What are you saying?"

"You need to find...a happy medium between the two. Be neither good nor evil, strive to merely _be_. It will make you a much more efficient fighter."

"In other words, be apathetic."

"Not at all. Apathy is the general reason for all dark deeds done." Sephiroth ran forward and simply pushed the exhausted boy to the arena's floor. He held Masamune's tip to the blonde's throat. "At this rate, you will never defeat me."

Something like hatred poured over Cloud's features, and for a second, Sephiroth was reminded of the man that he could become. Smirking at the realization, he resheated his sword and turned his back to his new apprentice.

"Cherish everything. It will be your strength."

That said, the General joined his friends at the arena's outskirts.

"That was terrible," Genesis grumbled as he watched Zack rushing over to help Cloud to his feet. "How boring. Sephiroth, I'll spar with you. It will make up for this utter waste of time."

"No time was wasted here today, Genesis, and I will not spar with you."

The red-haired man balked. "Why the fuck not?!"

"Language!" Angeal hissed as the cadets close-by started to back away nervously.

Sephiroth was thinking bitterly about Genesis and his...soon-to-begin degradation. He suddenly remembered that someone ought to kill Hollander as well as Hojo. Damn, he had too much to do. He glanced over to Cloud and sighed as he was reminded that the one person he really wanted help from, couldn't, because he didn't remember.

Would anyone?

_"And I swear I think Vincent was your real father, not that crazy ass of a scientist."_

"Vincent...Valentine, was it?" Sephiroth muttered, crossing his arms. "My father..." Not Hojo, as the horrible scientist had once mockingly claimed. Of course, he hadn't known that Sephiroth had been listening in on that conversation, but yes, the General knew that it had been a possibility. But his father might not be Hojo. What a _relief._ Many times, Sephiroth had found himself completely disgusted with his own existence. Only Jenova kept him from going ape-shit and killing crazy doctor...and himself. But suicide had never really appealed to him - he was too strong minded (in certain ways) for such an appalling thing.

But where was Vincent?

He blinked.

The mansion in Nibelheim, where Jenova also was - Jenova who Sephiroth feared approaching because he was afraid that she would take over his mind, or sweet talk him into destroying the world..._again_. He couldn't do that a second time, though lately with all the stress from being a hero again, and having his two suspicious best friends hovering over his shoulders, burning the world down was a temptation that lay within his power.

He couldn't go to Nibelheim.

How _inconvenient._

.

It was late, and most of the building was dark. Sephiroth left his office, and began making his way to his quarters for a few hours of sleep. He forgot how exhausting being an authority figure could be. When he rounded one corner, he came across an unexpected surprise.

"You think you're good enough to be the General's apprentice?! Why the hell did he pick a lazy ass like you?!"

Seventeen-year-old Donald and three of his large, braindead cronies had surrounded Cloud. The oldest was yelling and slamming the much smaller teenager against the wall. The blonde let out a sound of pain and Sephiroth took an instinctive step forward, his hand on Masamune's hilt, but somethink kept him from racing to the boy's rescue. Perhaps it was this: that he was offended that the man who had killed him twice could be so...pathetic. Grimacing, he released his sword and crossed his arms.

Cloud was the only one who could see him, as the others had their backs turned.

_Dammit, come help me! _Cloud was thinking vehemently, but the silver-haired man just slowly turned...and walked away.

_You have to learn to fight your own battles, Cloud. I can't fight them for you._

He never turned back to see the boy's eyes obtain what would have been a familar mako glow as he spun into action, single-handedly taking down his attackers. He frowned as Sephiroth disappeared around a distant corner.

Cloud may have held back in the ring, not letting Sephiroth see the truth, but he really was just as strong as ever, when he wanted to be. Other wise he had to put on a big show of being weak.

Cloud would never be weak again.

.

**I totally disclaim all rights to Final Fantasy and its characters. They belong to Square Enix. Me, I just wrote this little fanfic, and I'm scared of getting mauled for writing short, pointless chappies.**

**^^; Luv y'all!**

**Please keep reviewing! I really love them!**

**Oh! btw, there were some quotes I picked up around the internet and flung in here. Be aware that some of the dialogue isn't mine, mostly all that stuff about people being evil.**


	5. Secrets Tear Just Like Paper

Sephiroth was watching Cloud, watching as he had always watched, from the day when the boy had made his presence known. He had seemed too weak then, too forgettable to begin with, but oftentimes weaknesses became strenth, and innocence was corrupted - like Cloud's had been corrupted. However, he was still very ignorant in a lot of ways, though he was strong, strong enough in the end, to make the General realize how much of a fool he himself actually was.

So now, as Sephiroth watched, he watched with innocent curiosity, for this time around, he genuinely wanted to know who this boy really was. But Cloud was a difficult study. The boy was always moving with an unreasonable determination. For a child who had nothing to gain, no great enemy to defeat, he was awfully hardworking, harder so than Sephiroth knew the blond had originally been in the past. So what had changed? Had the Planet reconstructed Cloud in this way, now that she was not blinded to his usefulness? It was hard to say.

All Sephiroth knew was that he wanted to help, for he knew how strong the kid would become, yet feared that if he left Cloud alone, the boy would never develop to his full to his potential, because it _had _been Sephiroth, more so than Zack, who had driven this young man to the peak of his power. Sephiroth had given Cloud a purpose, and whether he had ever known it or not, Cloud had also given Sephiroth one - one much more reachable and reasonable than taking over the world because of his psychotic so-called mother Jenova.

The General shuddered. What had he ever seen in her? Well. That was a ridiculous question. He knew exactly what he had seen. He had seen a mother - a parent who was not Hojo, another

person who obviously thought he was special, and often told him so via their telepathic connection. It was terrifying that she had held so much control over his mind and body.

And humiliating.

When he had finally realized it -everything. He was so embarrassed, which was ten times more terrible than having been defeated so many times by Cloud. Of course, being beaten again was so unacceptable - so that last time, as he overwhelmed Kadaj, he promised himself not to lose, and he hadn't.

But winning a fight against Cloud hadn't been a vitory. It many ways it had been his greatest loss, because dying hadn't been so bad. Dying had been a relief. In death Jenova had not possessed him. In death there had been no one to kill. It had been terrifyingly peaceful, and he didn't _do _peaceful.

_I've always wanted to burn the world for what it did to me. All Jenova did was give me an excuse, and I snatched it up like a child deprived. Pathetic. _Sephiroth sighed. Many times now he wished to be someone else, particularly Cloud, who was so promising even without mako enhancements. Or he could have been like his friends: Angeal held strictly to his values, believed in them thoroughly, even after being betrayed, he passed those beliefs onto his apprentice, and some of them even rubbed off on Cloud via Zack's influence. But not all of them, for in Cloud there had sparked something darker than the heroism that the other two had impressed. Cloud was always darker. More discreet. And then there had been Genesis, who was so much like Cloud, with that added obsession over something so trivial as a play. LOVELESS.

Sephiroth shook his head. Genesis, too, had acted like a child, and something would have to be done before he continued the charade, that feeling he emitted that said: _I am not weak. I am strong. I will never surrender. I am stronger than you. I don't need anyone. I am superior._

Well, in truth Genesis and Sephiroth had a lot in common. He laughed quietly at that.

Until a paper airplane plowed invasively into his forehead.

What the hell?

Scrunching up his face in distaste, Sephiroth retrieved the irritating article off of the floor. For some reason, he was highly offended by such a simplistic thing. He presented a dark image to the males standing across the room as he crushed the ridiculous creation in his hand and tossed it violently against a wall.

Someone cleared his throat behind the General. Sephiroth sneered as he spun around and glared at the intruder with a maniacal gleam in his green eyes.

It was Cloud, but that didn't stave his temper.

"Cloud? Were you perhaps the owner of that paper menace?"

For some reason the boy seemed to think this was funny. Sephiroth glowered at his apprentice as the boy fought the urge to grin.

_That was hilarious! _Cloud thought hysterically. _He was so pissed off! And what did he call it - a paper menace? Does he have any idea how crazy that sounded....oh. Apparently not. He's still glaring at me. Of course, those other boys dared me to do it, but I didn't think it would have this effect. Sephiroth, you're still completely loony, aren't you? To be offended by an airplane!_

"I'm sorry sir, but you know," he smirked uncontrollably, "it was _just _a paper airplane."

Sephiroth's anger disapparated as Cloud burst into laughter. He wasn't appeased because Cloud's words had made him realize the absurdity of his sudden flare of temper. He was shocked because for a mere moment, he had thought he was staring at the man he had known. Cloud's face had taken on that mocking look that had always amused Sephiroth so badly when he had been intent on destroying world.

So anger had shifted quickly into suspicion.

There was this thing a warrior did, when he was intent to kill. It was a simple twisting of the mind, an implication of thought that became evident in body language. One warrior could always sense it in another. Always. Sephiroth shifted into homocidal mode, and at precisely the instant he did, Cloud seemed to jerk back, all amusement dropping from his features. His eyes became hard, and when they did, they glowed with a familiar mako green.

Sephiroth felt anger bubbling in his chest again.

"How clever, Cloud. It seems you've been concealing the truth from me, haven't you? I can't believe it took me this long to see, but of course, I've been busy trying to save the world," he said mockingly.

Cloud paled and balled his hands into fists.

"You finally figured it out, did you?" the younger hissed. He didn't notice the General's two best friends walk into the room.

Neither did the man himself. "You remember."

"I remember that you killed everyone, destroyed the Planet. To be honest, I never actually forgot. I just wanted to get a little revenge of my own." Cloud crossed his arms. "I'm not sure that I trust you. After all, _you killed me. _And in this time, Jenova's still wrapping her fingers into your thoughts._"_

Sephiroth laughed darkly. "Well, you killed me _twice_. We're not even yet, Cloud, and where's that pretty sword of yours? How are you going to defend yourself? Or can you in that child's body?"

Cloud smirked. "I'm just as strong as ever."

"And I am stronger. We figured that out in the end, remember?"

Cloud rolled his eyes. "I had my back turned. You cheated."

Sephiroth grimaced. "This little argument is getting us nowhere."

_"Indeed," _said a familiar voice that had both Cloud and Sephiroth whirling around guiltily. They exchanged glances as Genesis glared at them.

Angeal was frowning.

"What the flying fuck is going on here?" The red clad Commander demanded.

Cloud snickered and gave the General a pointed look. "It's your fault, _sir_."

Sephiroth sighed.

It was going to be a long day.

**AN: yaaaaay, another pathetically short chapter! I still have no idea where this fanfic is going! But yeah...I hope you enjoy. Disclaimage and all that - FFVII and characters belong to Square Enix, but the fanfiction in generally was all my idea. :3 Lurf y'all! Please review!**


	6. A Long Day Indeed

A Long Day Indeed.

There was no way he would say it - it would be absolutely foolish to tell them. Cloud waited, arms crossed and heavy scowl in place, for Sephiroth to right the situation.

_Little shit_, the General thought furiously. _Leaveing me to come up with an acceptable excuse!_

"How much did you hear?" Cloud finally said, as Sephiroth struggled with an answer.

Genesis snarled at the lack of formality, but Angeal held him back withan outstretched arm.

"We came in at '.._I'm just as strong as ever_,'" the older man replied. "It seemed as if the two of you were talking about a fight."

"Oh. Well, that's fine," Cloud said, smirking at Sephiroth.

"What a snotty little brat!"

"Shut up, Gen. He's my new apprentice," the General annouced with a sigh. He noticed that the galley suddenly seemed a little quieter. Cloud would probably be confronted by his peers for this little snippet of information. Sephiroth smiled darkly at the thought.

"He's _what_? Angeal! Get the chains!"

"And I thought Yuffie was bad," Cloud hissed under his breath.

Angeal kept a straight face through all of this, meanwhile still restraining Genesis.

"More specifically," the man continued, "it sounded as if you were talking about a fight in which a mere Cadet would have been your equal, Seph."

"Isn't that a sharp twist of the knife," Cloud said sarcastically.

"It was hypothetical," Sephiroth growled. "A mind game if you will."

"That's stupid," Genesis declared.

"Mm. I couldn't agree more."

"So how are you training the little bastard?" the Commander asked, noticing with amusement the way the Cadet stiffened suddenly and shot him a nasty scowl.

Sephiroth noticed, too. "Fuck off, Gen," he said uncharacteristically. "It's none of your business how I train my successor."

"The _fuck _did you just say?" Genesis howled, fists clutched tightly at his sides.

Cloud looked equally astonished. "Su_ccessor_?" he blanched. "Since when?"

_Since about three seconds ago. _"I've been thinking about it since I invited you to be my apprentice." He was good at lying.

Strife looked skeptical. "You're crazy," he finally spat, but the comment wasn't particularly ridden with violence. The word-barb expectedly bounced right off the General anyway. Cloud recognized the opportunity as a dream long forgotten. Suddenly, he didn't feel so cross with the silver-haired man anymore. "Thank you," he whispered in awe.

Sephiroth smiled at him - _smiled!_ "You're welcome, Cloud."

Angeal, watching the exchange silently, quirked a brow. So it was 'Cloud' now, was it?

Genesis was still too furious and shocked to care. He spun around and stormed out of the room - a _classic _Genesis exit. It only lacked the pointless slip of a LOVELESS quote.

Sephiroth appeared immensely displeased. Angeal looked disappointed. Cloud was lost in thought.

What an odd group they made.

Zack's eyes widened as Cloud was thrown violently into a concrete wall, and the General was on him in the blink of an eye, but that wasn't the amazing part. The amazing part was that Cloud dodged the General's strike at the last moment, and practically _tackled _the man in the chest.

Zack's jaw dropped as _Sephiroth _was _slammed _into the ground, and the silver General let out an amused laugh.

"What's so funny?" Cloud asked, his blade at Sephiroth's throat.

"_This_." He kicked the poor Cadet in the ribs and sent him flying. Cloud flipped in midair and landed neatly on all fours, sliding to a stop with a wopsided grin.

"That all you got?"

_What the heck is that boy thinking? _Zack thought wildly. He closed his eyes as the General launched himself off the gound and at Cloud.

Angeal and Genesis would have a field day if they knew about _this_.

As expected, Cloud was approached by his peers shortly after the galley conversation with the three most famous men in SOLDIER. They surrounded him in a dark hallway, and Cloud fucking _knew _that if he really fought back, there would be dire consequences. So as he was beaten into oblivion, he thought about being stabbed by Masamune one too many times and decided it wasn't so bad.

He'd had worse.

"What happened?" Sephiroth said breathily, bursting into the Infirmary with Zack in tow.

Cloud was in a world of hurt, black and blue from head to toe, his blond hair matted with sticky blood.

"Just a fight. It was sort of one-sided. I didn't fight back."

"WHY NOT?" Zack demanded, for once in his life wearing an angry expression. "You could've handled those idiots! You could have died!"

Cloud stared at the General, whose eyes were so blank that it was eerie.

"No Zack. It takes a lot more than this to kill me, and not to worry-" he smirked and it smarted, "I know from experience; I heal quickly."

**Author's Note: **_**I disclaim all rights to Final Fantasy. FFVII belongs to Square Enix. This is a rather short chapter, but I dropped a few bombshells. To be honest I can barely keep my eyes open. Hope you liked this, at least. :3**_


	7. Raindrops in the Air

**. Raindrops in the Air .**

It was raining. The weatherman suggested light winds and sunshine, but of course, he was always wrong. Cloud and Sephiroth were walking through LOVELESS Avenue, a place which neither was very fond of. However, the red-clad Commander trailing in their footsteps was rather fond of the location.

After a month or so, Angeal and Genesis grudgingly accepted the choice Sephiroth had made concerning Cloud, however, it would be a lie to say that they weren't suspicious of how the General had been acting lately. Nonetheless, Cloud was accepted into their "group" without further delay.

He stuck close to Sephiroth nowadays. Amongst the Soldiers, Cloud was Sephiroth's little Chocobo, much the same way that Zack was Angeal's Puppy. However, the relationship between the General and the Cadet was anything but stable.

A close observer would notice that Cloud was stiff at the General's side, and that Sephiroth liked to tease the boy into make the darkest, angriest experssions imagineable. Today, he need not even try. Cloud was obviously thinking about something dreadful. His face was dark with fury all day.

"What's with you two?" Genesis asked, eyes browsing the shop windows as they passed by. "You're quiet today."

"Cloud is upset," Sephiroth explained. "The reason why is beyond me."

At that, the blonde cast the man a filthy scowl. He turned back to stare ahead and hissed. "This is the anniversary of the day that one of my friends died. Some _asshole_ killed her."

"Sorry. That's unfortunate," Genesis offered lackadaisically.

Sephiroth was unaffected. He simply wondered which "friend" it was this time. He thought about it for a minute or so, considering the date and time _here_ rather than _then_. It brought up many other unpleasant issues. Lately, Sephiroth had been working hard at stalling Hojo's interactions with Jenova in every way possible. Luckily, it was working and the General's involvement had gone unnoticed.

Cloud suddenly turned and started walking towards the train station.

"Whoa!" Genesis snarled. "Where are _you_ going, blondie?"

"To visit a friend in the slums."

Sephiroth's eyes widened a fraction. _Oh_, he thought. _That "friend"_. He suddenly felt a wave of anxiety.

"Eeeew!" the Commander cooed. "You have friends in the _slums_? It's disgusting down there!"

"Then stay here," Sephiroth said quietly, turning to follow Cloud.

_No way! _Genesis thought to himself. _Angeal asked me to keep an eye on you two. Eventually, we'll find out what the fuck's really going on. So until then-_

"The slums it is," he grumbled.

'This is actually a divider. FFNET doesn't like real ones, so this will have to suffice.'

They stepped into the church, and Genesis was surprised that there was at least one nice gem hiding amongst the filthy slums. Figures, it _would_ be a church. He was worried for Seph at the moment though. The silver-haired man seemed somewhat twitchy the very moment they stepped under the plate.

Nervously, though he wouldn't admit it, Sephiroth leaned out of Gen's earshot, and asked Cloud quietly, "Will she remember?"

Cloud offered the man a frown. "I think she will."

"Hello!" a cheerful voice rang up from the patch of flowers in the front of the church.

Two of them stiffened at the sound, but Genesis strolled forward like he owned the place.

"You must be the one Cloud was so determined to see, Miss...?"

"Aerith," the girl supplied, and tilted her head cutely. "What's your name?"

"Genesis."

"What a pleasant sounding name," she said. "It means 'beginning'."

Genesis smiled. "I know. Thank you."

"Cloud?" Aerith stood and walked slowly over to the boy. She was a little taller than him, he realized, heart racing. She smiled warmly. "I do remember."

Next to Cloud, the General paled, and the girl turned to look at the silver haired man with warmth and welcome, and in her eyes, acceptance.

"I am sorry," Sephiroth whispered, eyes burning with shame.

She didn't falther. "You know, in a backwards way, you're kind of like my brother, Sephiroth." It was her way of saying, _You're an ancient too, or have you forgotten, silly?_ "I could teach you things."

He looked uncomfortable. "I would be grateful."

She turned back to Cloud. "You should go. Bring _Zack_ with you next time, please?"

"Okay," Cloud said, previous anger diminished. He looked like he might cry. "It's good to see you, Aerith."

As Cloud led them back out of the church, Genesis was frowning. What had just happened here? At this rate, he wondered unhappily if he could ever unravel the mysteries that surrounded Cloud and his friend.

**Attn Readers**: This is the author of _Sephiroth. _I just wanted to say _Thank you_ on behalf of all the tidbits of time I have smooshed into the creation of this..._thing_. I have 85 reviews for only 6 chapters - an average of 14.67 reviews per chapter. I wonder if we could increase that to twenty within the next two or three chapters? Guess it's all to be determined. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter. Sorry it was so short again! One day I will get to writing longer chapters. I only had an hour today. Also, please ignore any incorrect time lapses, and if dividers are rather quirky, I apologize. Many thanks.

-nightmarekitt

**Disclaimer**: I do not own _Final Fantasy VII._ I do, however, claim the rights to this work of fanfiction.


	8. The Quiet Inquisition

**. The Quiet Inquisition .**

He peaked around the corner, eyes narrowed in concentration at the fighting pair. Cloud pounced on Sephiroth with such alacrity that it was alarming. Why did he do it? Of course, he had been training with the famous General for over a month now, but that didn't excuse...their relationship. Where _had _the odd duo met? As far as anyone knew, when Seph did leave work, he hardly went anywhere without either Genesis or Angeal. So...what was really going on here?

And why didn't Reno already know about it?

333

"You're oddly...energetic today, Strife," Sephiroth commented as he dodged one of Cloud's wild swings with that puny training sword. _Fortunately for me, he doesn't have that monstrous First Tsurugi_.

"It's a good day!" Cloud said, grinning in a very Zack-like fashion.

"Why?" Sephiroth paused in their fight, and Cloud followed suit.

"I don't know!"

Sephiroth smirked and dove at Cloud with a quick thrust of Masamune. The lithe blonde acrobatically flipped out of the way.

"Close one!" Cloud announched.

The General rolled his eyes. "Did Zack put something in your drink this morning?"

Cloud grinned eerily.

333

It just didn't make sense. They were bickering like old friends. _But we're his friends! _Genesis thought with ire. _Why did he pick Cloud over us? The same way Angeal picked Zack over us!_ The red-clad SOLDIER leaned back against the brick wall. _Maybe it's a ploy for revenge against Angeal, or maybe..._

"Maybe _I _need an apprentice," he muttered, thinking to even the score.

333

Seph and Cloud lounged on the soft chairs in the First Class SOLDIER lounge after a hard practice session.

"Hey, Sephiroth."

The General sighed. "What?"

"Jenova. I can hear her voice...can you?"

Sephiroth sat up a little straighter and looked at his apprentice seriously. "Yes," he said, "her influence swims through my vains like poison."

Cloud paled marginally. "That sounds like something the old Sephiroth would say."

Sephiroth looked away. "She's hard to...ignore."

"I do it just fine!" Cloud protested, suddenly horrified by the thought that Sephiroth might go "bad" again. "You have so much to live for!"

The General looked at Cloud with a torn expression. "Do I?"

"Of course," Cloud whispered. "Have you forgotten what it was like in the end? Look around, Sephiroth. We both hate ShinRa, but we're here now, and we can change things. You still have Genesis and Angeal."

"The degradation...Cloud, I'm concerned for them."

"We'll figure it out!" Cloud said passionately. "They're my friends, too, you know?" He sighed heavily and leaned back in his seat. "And at least..._here_, Zack won't die."

"That wasn't my fault," Sephiroth said quietly.

"No. It was mine."

Did he hear that right?

"Strength is the ability to face a tragedy and come out alive, not necessarily unscathed. You are not weak Cloud, but you were a _puppet_. When Zack died, you were Hojo's puppet – a slave to mako-poisoning. There was nothing you could have done. Even Zack couldn't hold his own against an _army_. When Aerith died...you were mine. You bore witness to their deaths and made them...honorable. In no way were you _ever _to blame."

"But...I..." Cloud ducked his head. "I was stupid. I could have done more."

"What could you have done? You did everything you could!"

Cloud couldn't really argue with that.

"If anything, everything was _my _fault," Sephiroth growled, reaching over and slapping the blonde's head lightly. "Stop blaming yourself. It only makes it worse for me."

"We should just split the credit."

Sephiroth stood from his chair and began to leave the room, but stopped at the door to say:

"When you fought me for the last time, before it was all over, you said something. You said _'There isn't a thing that I don't cherish!' _But you're wrong there are two things you don't cherish." Sephiroth pointed to Cloud, and then to himself.

"You...and _me_."

He left the room.

333

Zack sat at the table, shoveling down galley food like it was actually tasty and identifiable.

"Man, that's gross," Kunsel said next to him. "How can you possibly be enjoying that slop?"

"Yeah, Zack," Cloud said from across the table. "Even I have my limits."

"Nope. Out on missions, there are worse things than this," Zack announced.

"Like what? I've never had any problems?" Kunsel suddenly smiled mischeviously. "What _did _Angeal make you eat out there?"

Zack blushed and sat down his fork.

"You don't want to know."

333

Kunsel was walking back to his room when he suddenly bumped into someone in the hall.

"Oops." He looked up, rubbing his nose. "Sorry about that, uh...Sir."

It was Genesis, and didn't necessarily look unhappy, but he didn't look thrilled either.

"Don't worry about it," the Commander said. "You're Zack's friend, right? I hear you're pretty high in the standings, but you don't want to advance because you don't want the pressure of it, right?"

"Uuuuh, right, Sir."

Genesis grinned evilly. "Come with me, SOLDIER."

"Yes, Sir, but why?"

"Because you're going to be _my _apprentice."

Kunsel paled. "Shit."

**Author's Note**: _This almost feels rather drabble-ish now._

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Final Fantasy VII._


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